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Charlotte Hayward

Charlotte Hayward’s work has consistently shown ways to convey cultural differences and pushes the concepts of societal standards. She has recently worked with photography to refine her ideas of identity and pushing the limits of re-identifying herself through makeup and Photoshop. Collaboration has been an important part of the photographic series, as it combined and applied skills to the project. These ideas have been supported by research into Japanese kawaii culture and kitsch.

From researching Japanese culture, she found an interest in Japanese fake food (sampura) and began sculptures based upon these forms. These sculptures are a hybrid form of sampura and squishies (foam stress toys) and she has successfully replicated cakes from scratch. Hayward intends to encapsulate feelings of cuteness and the sickly sweet, and has found the tangibility of sculpture the best way to represent these feelings as they can be hard to describe.